banzainetsurfer has added a photo to the pool:
Naruto, Tokushima, Shikoku, Japan
日本四国地方徳島県鳴門町
The Ōnaruto Bridge (大鳴門橋, Ōnaruto-kyō; lit. "Great Naruto Bridge") is a suspension bridge that carries 4 lanes of the Kobe-Awaji-Naruto Expressway connecting Minamiawaji, Hyogo on Awaji Island with Naruto, Tokushima on Ōge Island, Japan. Completed in 1985, it has a main span of 876 metres (2,874 ft).
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%8Cnaruto_Bridge
US vice president cited shortcomings in the talks, saying Iran had chosen not to accept American terms, including to not build nuclear weapons
US vice president JD Vance said on Sunday that his negotiating team was leaving Pakistan after not reaching a deal with Iran after a marathon 21 hours of negotiations.
Vance cited shortcomings in the talks and said Iran had chosen not to accept American terms, including to not build nuclear weapons.
Continue reading...Warring sides exchange 175 prisoners as Ukraine accuses Russia of 469 ceasefire violations, and Moscow blames Kyiv for gas station attack. What we know on day 1,509
Russia and Ukraine on Saturday accused each other of violating a brief ceasefire in their four-year-old war, hours into the truce put in place to mark Orthodox Easter. Governors of two Russian border regions said Ukrainian drones had attacked targets in the Kursk and Belgorod regions, injuring five people. The general staff of Ukraine’s military said Russian forces had violated the terms of the 32-hour truce through assault actions, shelling and drone strikes.
By late Saturday, Ukraine’s military said in a Facebook post that “469 ceasefire violations were recorded, namely: 22 enemy assault actions, 153 shelling attacks, 19 strikes by attack drones ... and 275 strikes by FPV drones.” In total, the Ukrainian military said Saturday had seen Russia carry out 57 airstrikes and drop 182 guided aerial bombs, along with deploying 3,928 drones and conducting 2,454 shelling attacks “on populated areas and positions of our troops”.
In Russia’s Kursk region, which borders Ukraine, governor Alexander Khinshtein also accused Kyiv of breaking the 32-hour truce by attacking a gas station in the town of Lgov with a drone, injuring three people, including a baby.
Despite tensions over the truce, the warring sides exchanged 175 prisoners of war each on Saturday, according to officials from both sides. Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine had brought home 175 servicemen and seven civilians from Russian captivity. Andrii Yusov, a Ukrainian defence intelligence representative, said 163 of those freed had been held since 2022. “This is a real success, a very significant achievement,” Yusov said. “It is very hard to imagine what these people have been through during that time and you can see that the men are returning in varying conditions.” Russia’s defence ministry said the United Arab Emirates had mediated the exchange. Russia took back 175 servicemen and also seven civilians originally from the Kursk region, the ministry said.
Russian news agencies said Vladimir Putin attended services after midnight at Moscow’s vast Christ the Saviour Cathedral. In his Easter greeting, quoted by agencies, the Russian leader described Easter as the “triumph of love, good and justice”. He also expressed thanks to Orthodox Patriarch Kirill for his support of those fighting in Russia’s military campaign, described as a “special military operation“. “I would like especially to note the effective assistance you provide to our heroes – the participants and veterans of the special military operation,” he wrote.
Zelenskyy, in his nightly video address, made no reference to alleged ceasefire violations. The Ukrainian president repeated that Ukraine would stick to the truce and wished it could be in effect longer. “It would be right for the ceasefire to continue beyond this,” Zelenskyy said. “We have made this proposal to Russia and if Russia once again chooses war instead of peace, it will show the world, and particularly the United States, who truly wants what.”
Hungarians vote on Sunday in an election that could end prime minister Viktor Orbán’s 16-year hold on power. For Ukraine, Hungary’s eastern neighbour, an Orbán defeat could mean the unblocking of a €90bn (US$105bn) European Union loan vital for Kyiv’s war effort. It would also deprive Russia of its closest ally in the EU.
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N i e u w bericht, meer quotes in 4e en 5e alinea
HOUSTON (ANP/AFP) - De astronauten van de Artemis II-missie hebben zaterdag op een persconferentie teruggeblikt op hun maanvlucht. Ze riepen de mensheid op tot eenheid, geïnspireerd door het beeld van de aarde als een eenzame reddingsboot in het heelal.
Astronaute Christina Koch vertelde wat haar het meest trof. "Het was niet zozeer de aarde zelf, maar al het zwart eromheen. De aarde hing daar gewoon als een reddingsboot in het universum." Haar boodschap: "Planeet Aarde, jullie zijn een bemanning."
De vier astronauten - commandant Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Jeremy Hansen en Koch - voltooiden vrijdag met een "splashdown" voor de kust van Californië de eerste reis om de maan in meer dan 50 jaar. Ze vlogen ook dieper de ruimte in dan ooit eerder mensen hebben gedaan.
De missie brak ook meerdere andere records. Glover was de eerste gekleurde persoon die om de maan vloog, Koch de eerste vrouw en de Canadees Hansen de eerste niet-Amerikaan. Hansen vroeg het publiek zichzelf te herkennen in de bemanning. "Als u hier naar ons kijkt, kijkt u niet naar ons. Wij zijn een spiegel die u weerkaatst."
Tijdens de vlucht fotografeerden de astronauten de maan uitgebreid en waren ze getuige van een zonsverduistering en meteorietinslagen op het maanoppervlak. NASA-chef Jared Isaacman noemde de missie een historisch moment. "Artemis II zal altijd herinnerd worden als het moment waarop we de maan weer zagen - en de wereld opnieuw begon te geloven."
